Irlam

Irlam is on the north bank of the River Irwell, from which it almost certainly takes its name, being known in the 13th century as Irwellham.[3] Until the arrival of the Cheshire Lines Committee railway and the opening of Irlam railway station in 1873, Irlam remained a largely undeveloped village, on the southern edge of the peat bog known as Chat Moss.[4]

From at least the beginning of the 13th century, Irlam was held by the Irlam family, whose seat was Irlam Hall. By 1688 Irlam Hall had become the home of Thomas Latham, who played an important part in bringing William of Orange to the throne of England in 1689.[5]

Irlam Urban District was created in 1894, the same year that the Manchester Ship Canal opened. A pair of locks and a ship coaling berth were constructed here. The subsequent industrial development of Irlam owed much to the construction of the canal, which effectively rendered the River Irwell navigable to large ocean-going ships up to Manchester Docks. The Latham family's importance to the local area was acknowledged when their features were incorporated into the arms of Irlam's former urban district council.[4]

Council-owned housing passed to the City West Housing Trust. It was while renovating some of these properties at 7:00 am on 2 November 2010, that there was a large gas explosion. Four houses were destroyed, 15 people were injured and 80 families were subsequently evacuated. There were no fatalities.[6]

The ward elect three councillors to Salford City Council via its Irlam ward.[7] The current councillors are: Roger Jones (Labour Co-op),[8] Peter Taylor (Labour),[9] and Tracy Kelly (Labour).[10] It is represented in Westminster by Barbara Keeley MP for Worsley and Eccles South.[11]

Steel manufacture was a major source of employment in Irlam for a large part of the 20th century. The Partington Steel and Iron Company opened the first steelworks in Irlam in 1910. It subsequently became a part of the Lancashire Steel Corporation, and later British Steel Corporation. Rationalisation and the concentration of steel manufacture into fewer, larger sites, meant that by 1979, all steel production in Irlam had ceased.[12] The former steelworks are now the site of Northbank Industrial Estate.

Kingsland Wine & Spirits, the UK's largest independent wine bottler, operates from a 35-acre (14 ha) site in Irlam, formerly a soapworks established in 1895. The company employs 300 people.[13]

Irlam F.C. is a semi-professional football club that plays in the North West Counties League and has its ground at the Ambitek Stadium on Silver Street. There are two junior football teams in the area, one of them being Irlam JFC.

Irlam Cricket Club plays in the Greater Manchester Cricket League, and Irlam Leisure Centre is a facility with a swimming pool, sports hall, squash court and fitness gym.

• Neil McArthur[14]
• Matty Blythe[15]
• Bob Dale[16]
• Ian Goodwin[17]
• Michelle Keegan
• Percy Le Clerc[18]
• Emma Lowndes[19]
• Adam Neal[20]
• Jason Talbot[21]
• Ernest Warburton[22]
• Russell Watson[23]
• Scott Hogan
• Liam Hogan
• Matthew Hughes (Famous Software Engineer)

• Listed buildings in Irlam
• Irlam and Cadishead Academy

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Irlam.

• Historical photos and discussion of Irlam